This invention relates to railing or hand railing systems, and more particularly to railing systems which have minimal profile as to not inhibit a view being observed beyond the railing.
It has been an object of railing manufacturers to provide railing systems with thin low profile balusters so as not to block the scenic view beyond the railing. To accomplish this objective, some manufacturers provide wooden railings with thin wooden balusters. However, such thin wooden balusters are prone to breakage and are not sufficiently thin.
Another approach has been to provide balusters manufactured of stainless steel wire rope. The wire rope balusters are provided either as horizontal balusters or vertical balusters. Vertical balusters are preferable, and in fact, in some localities the horizontal balusters are not in conformity with the local building code. This is because children have a tendency to climb the horizontal balusters as a ladder and can be harmed by falling over the railing.
The wire rope balusters require the use of expensive connectors in order to connect the stainless steel wire rope ends to the rails and they are also time consuming, and therefore expensive, to install.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a low profile balustrade which is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and maintenance free.